Former UFC champion shares grim update on if he will ever fight again: "Looking very doubtful"

Every great UFC champion has to hang up the gloves eventually and it looks like an all-time great 135-pounder may be the next warrior to ride off into the sunset.

TJ Dillashaw stated as much on his Instagram page, that we may very well have seen the last of him inside the confines of the cage.

The former multi-time UFC bantamweight champion shared a post on IG enjoying recovery after a long weekend and touched on some of the benefits of cold water immersion for restoration purposes.

In the comments of this post, Instagram user @cip2640 said,

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"Will you fight again?"

Dillashaw responded to the fan by commenting back,

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"Looking very doubtful."

[Image Courtesy: @tjdillashaw comment section on Instagram]

Check out TJ Dillashaw indicating the uncertainty of his MMA future below:

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TJ Dillashaw and his UFC champion legacy

If this is in fact the end for him, TJ Dillashaw will have carved out an incredible path for himself and finish things off at 17-5 overall as a professional mixed martial artist.

Dillashaw put together a 4-0 record early on before getting his big shot on The Ultimate Fighter season 14. He would carve out a path to the TUF 14 finals before suffering his first loss in the sport whilst getting finished by John Dodson via strikes.

The now-38-year-old went on a four-fight winning streak after this setback before losing to Raphael Assuncao via split decision. After rebounding with a win over Mike Easton, Dillashaw notched one of the biggest underdog wins in the sport's history when he unseated bantamweight champion Renan Barao at UFC 173 to embark on his first reign as UFC champion.

The then-Team Alpha Male product secured title defenses over Joe Soto and Barao in a rematch before losing the strap to former UFC bantamweight titleholder Dominick Cruz in January 2016.

The California native then avenged his earlier loss against Assuncao and also bested John Lineker on points at UFC 207. Dillashaw reclaimed the 135-pound belt and then defended it against former Team Alpha Male compatriot-turned-rival Cody Garbrandt. This took place at UFC 217 and 227, respectively.

Dillashaw was a two-time UFC champion but aimed to become a two-division UFC titleholder. This attempt to enter rarefied air fell apart against Henry Cejudo when he was finished by strikes 32 seconds into his bid for the flyweight title. Dillashaw also received a two-year USADA suspension thereafter for a drug test that showed EPO in his system.

Returning in the summer of 2021, he bested Cory Sandhagen via split decision but later fell short in what looks to be his final bid to become a UFC champion. This happened against Aljamain Sterling, and Dillashaw was finished with strikes in the second round of their UFC 280 bantamweight title fight in October 2022.

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